Same-Sex Marriage and Employee Benefits Update
NEWS
- Health Care Reform after the Election: New Proposed Regulations Address PPACA’s Essential Health Benefits and Minimum Value Requirements
- DOL Replaces Q&A 30 Regarding Use of Brokerage Windows
- New IRS Guidance on the $2,500 Limit on Salary Reduction Contributions to Health Flexible Spending Accounts
- CFPB Issues Guidance on Application of Compensation Rules under Regulation Z to Qualified Plans
- Regulations under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act Confirm that Pension Trust Assets are not Subject to Form 8938 Disclosure
- New HHS Bulletin Confirms Exemption from the Requirement to Provide Essential Health Benefits for Many Employer-Sponsored Health Plans
- New State and Local Health Plan Requirements May Have ERISA Preemption Implications
- IRS Acquiesces to U.S.Tax Court Holding that Gender Reassignment Surgery is a Tax Deductible Medical Expense
- Affordable Care Act FAQ Part VII Postpones Summary of Benefits and Coverage and Uniform Glossary Effective Date
- IRS Again Postpones Effective Date of Hybrid Plan Regulations and PPA Amendment Adoption Deadline
- DOL Announces Decision to Re-Propose Rule on Definition of a Fiduciary
- Women to Receive Preventive Services at No Additional Cost
- Department of Labor Extends Fee Transparency Regulation Deadlines
- SUPREME COURT CIGNALLING: IN CIGNA CORP. v. AMARA, COURT TELLS PARTICIPANTS THAT DOOR TO MONETARY AWARDS AGAINST FIDUCIARIES IS OPENING UNDER ERISA SECTION 502(a)(3)
- Medicare Part D Creditable Coverage Notice Requirement has Changed
- Colleges and Universities May Soon Receive IRS Code Section 403(b) Plan Compliance Check Questionnaire
- CIGNA Corp. v. Amara: Supreme Court Grants Participants' Certiorari Petition and Remands to Lower Court for Further Consideration in Light of Court's Earlier Opinion on Plan Sponsor's Certiorari Petition
- California Will Not Tax Health Coverage for Children Required to be Covered under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
- IRS Notice 2011–28 Provides Interim Guidance on Informational Reporting on Employer-Sponsored Group Health Coverage
- U.S. Department of Labor Sets New Extended Deadline of January 1, 2012, for Required Service Provider Disclosures
- IRS Issues Guidance on the Use of FSA and HRA Debit Cards for Over-the-Counter Drugs
- Delayed Enforcement of PPACA's Nondiscrimination Requirements for Insured Plans
- Amendment to the Grandfathered Health Plan Regulations Allows Plan Sponsors to Switch Insurance Companies Without Losing Grandfathered Status
- Penalty-Free Transition Period for Correcting Section 409A Document Errors Expires on December 31, 2010
- DOL Proposes to Exempt Payments from Pension Trusts From LM–30 Reporting
- California May Tax Health Coverage for Children Required to be Covered under the Affordable Care Act
- DOL Posts New COBRA Model Notices after ARRA Subsidy Expires
- Department of Labor Issues Guidance on the MHPAEA
- DOL and SEC Issue Investor Bulletin for Plan Participants on Target Date Retirement Funds
- 401(k) Questionnaire Coming to 1,200 Employers
- New E-signature Option for Forms 5500 and 5500-SF
- COBRA Premium Assistance Eligibility Extended through May 31, 2010
- COBRA Premium Assistance Extended and Amended
- Treasury Provides FBAR Guidance and Extension of Interim Relief
- Revised CHIP Model Notice
- EGTRRA Restatement Deadline for Defined Contribution Prototype and Volume Submitter Plans Fast Approaching
- Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Model Notice
- IRS Issues Guidance on HEART Act
- Supreme Court Declines to Review Hecker v. Deere
- IRS Notice 2009–97 Extends Only a Few Amendment Deadlines
- COBRA Premium Assistance Extended
- UPDATE ON NEW IRS GUIDANCE ON WRERA AND WAIVER OF THE 2009 § 401(a)(9) REQUIRED MINIMUM DISTRIBUTIONS
- NINTH CIRCUIT SHEDS LIGHT ON DISCLOSURE OF CONTRACTUAL TIME LIMITATIONS FOR COMMENCING BENEFITS LAWSUITS
- NEW IRS GUIDANCE ON WRERA AND WAIVER OF THE 2009 SECTION 401(A)(9) REQUIRED MINIMUM DISTRIBUTIONS
- IRS Provides Interim FBAR Relief
- 2010 INFLATION ADJUSTMENTS FOR HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNTS
- HIPAA PRIVACY NOTICE REMINDER
- Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 — Impact on Group Health Plans
- 2009 Required Minimum Distributions Waived under the Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008
- Document Compliance Deadline for Section 409A is December 31, 2008. Action Must Be Taken in Order to Avoid Severe Tax Penalties
- Health Plan Update
- "It's the Relief that Counts": Notice 2007–86 Provides 409A Compliance Extension
- MEDICARE PART D ANNUAL NOTICE REQUIREMENTS
- Special Alert: Massachusetts Health Care Reform
- S.F. Ordinance Requires Paid Sick Leave Benefits to Employees
- IRS Extends Compliance Deadline under Code Section 409A
- Updated Guidance and Notices (Including a New Notice Obligation) for Medicare Part D
- Medicare Part D Annual Notice
to CMS Due Soon - HIPAA Privacy Notice Reminder
- Long-Awaited Guidance on Section 409A Has Arrived
- Update: Discretionary Clauses in Disability Insurance Policies
- Notice Regarding Changes to Certain Written Communications
- Final HIPAA Portability Regulations Became Effective July 1, 2005
- CMS Releases Medicare Part D Creditable Coverage Guidance
- Stock Option Accounting Update
- DOL Publishes USERRA Notice for Posting by Employers
- Automatic Rollover of Mandatory Cash-Outs
- AB 2208 Mandates Insurance Coverage for California Registered Domestic Partners
- Deferred Compensation Update
- New Rules for Those Plans Required to Provide QJSA and QPSA Notices
- The Pension Funding Equity Act of 2004; Internal Revenue Service Notice 2004–34 and Announcement 2004–38
In the period since the California Supreme Court (the "Court") legalized same-sex marriage on May 15, 2008, we have been providing you with updates regarding both the status of same-sex marriage in California, and the issues involved with the provision of certain employee benefits to an employee's same-sex spouse (see our May 2008 and December 2008 issues). On May 26, 2009, the Court issued its decision regarding the validity of Proposition 8, the voter initiative that purported to amend the California Constitution to specify that the State of California will only recognize as valid a "marriage" between "one man and one woman." The Court confirmed the ability of the voters — by initiative — to make such an amendment to the California Constitution. However, the Court also upheld the validity of the 18,000 same-sex marriages that took place between June 17, 2008 and November 4, 2008. Therefore, effective November 5, 2008, the State of California will not recognize same-sex marriages performed on or after that date.
In addition, five other states (Massachusetts, Vermont, Iowa, Maine and Connecticut) now permit same-sex couples to legally marry. Employers are left to decide what — if any — benefits to provide to employees' same-sex spouses (and how to determine who is a same-sex spouse). On June 4, 2009, we will present a webinar regarding the implications of the recent Court decision, the status of same-sex marriage in other states and countries, and the decisions employers need to make regarding the provision of employee benefits to their employees' same-sex spouses. We hope you will be able to join us.
Copyright © Trucker Huss. All rights reserved. This article is published as an information source for our clients and colleagues. The article is current as of the date shown above, is general in nature and is not the substitute for legal advice or opinion in a particular case. In response to new IRS rules of practice, we inform you that any federal tax information contained in this writing cannot be used for the purpose of avoiding tax-related penalties or promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any tax-related matters in this writing.